Prickly Pear fruit is finally appearing, a few years after collecting some of the small cacti from Melbourne’s Western suburbs. Back then it seemed like another way to generate fruit in the garden without too much ongoing effort – after all it’s a cactus!

Plant and ye shall grow!

This particular prickly pear now stands at 8 feet tall and having established itself, will go into full fruit next year. This slow start is fairly much what happened with the Loquat last year, which is now proving buckets of fruit. Fruit trees are an amazing investment, because once you help them start-up, they should reward you for many years for little additional effort on your part.

Add some fruit bearing cacti to your plant menu if you get the chance – they are diverse and delicious, but do mind the prickles!